Evidence
14 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-14).
-
[1]research packet pt-packet.md [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERIFIED — real identity: USS LCI(L)-539
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-pkt-pt-packet-md
-
[2]NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive, USS LCI(G)-539 ex USS LCI(L)-539 - construction, commissioning, Normandy campaign credit, LCI(G) reclassification, disposal, Lazy Days barge fate, specifications (live page verified 2026-09-30; history credited to Turner Publishing 'USS LCI Landing Craft Infantry' Vol. II, 1995) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150539.htm header block, campaign table, disposition block, specifications block, and photo captions
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Documented for this hull: LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large); laid down 13 December 1943 at New Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Barber, N.J.; launched 18 January 1944; commissioned USS LCI(L)-539, 22 January 1944. Assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater; campaign: Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944. Reclassified Landing Craft Infantry (Gunboat) USS LCI(G)-539, 15 July 1945. Decommissioned (page prints both 'date unknown' and '20 December 1945' - see correction row ev-13); struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946; transferred to the Maritime Commission 28 April 1948; registered in 1950 as passenger barge Lazy Days homeported in San Diego, CA; foundered 9 May 1953 about 1.5 miles off Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, CA. One battle star for WWII service; American Campaign Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1), World War II Victory Medal. Spec block (this hull's page): 216 t. light / 234 t. landing / 389 t. loaded; 158'5.5" x 23'3"; 16 kts max (14 continuous); LCI(L) complement 3 officers + 21 enlisted; LCI(G) complement 5 officers + 65 enlisted; troop capacity 6 officers + 182 enlisted; 75 tons cargo; four single 20mm guns and two .50cal machine guns (LCI(L)); two 40mm, four 20mm, six .50cal, ten Mk7 rocket launchers (LCI(G)); 2-inch plastic splinter protection on turrets, conning tower, pilot house; endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts on 110 tons fuel; two sets of 4 General Motors diesels (4 per shaft), 1,600 bhp, twin variable-pitch propellers. Photo captions document US Army troops boarding from an LCVP of USS Thomas Jefferson (APA-30) circa 5 June 1944 (US Navy photos from US National Archives).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1953
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (Dec 1943-Jan 1944); LCI(L) crew 3 officers + 21 enlisted (1944-45); embarked troops up to ~188; Gibbs Gas Engine Co. yard trades (Aug 1945); civilian barge crew (1950-53)
- Limitations
- NavSource is a volunteer secondary compilation - dates generally track official records but the page is not a primary registry; builder/date corroborated by the shipbuilding-history build table, uboat.net, and NavalCoverMuseum; D-Day participation corroborated by the Flotilla 12/Group 35 account and the flotilla's own war diary. The page itself prints two conflicting decommissioning lines and both 'fate unknown' and the Lazy Days foundering - see ev-13 correction. Contains no asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-01
-
[3]Shipbuilding-history LCI(L) build table (Naval Marine Archive mirror of the Colton shipbuilding data), LCI(L)-539 row [other_primary]
- Locator
- navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/smallships/lcil.html, LCI(L) hull table row 539
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The build table lists: LCI(L) | 'G' flag | hull 539 | New Jersey SB, Barber NJ | 22-Jan-44 | 'To NDRF 1948' - corroborating the builder, yard location, completion/commissioning date, the later LCI(G) designation (the 'G' type flag), and the 1948 National Defense Reserve Fleet / Maritime Commission custody on the NavSource page. Surrounding rows (537-545) are the same New Jersey Shipbuilding/Barber block, mostly 'G'-flagged: 537 'To Britain 1944', 538 'To Admiral Farragut Academy 1946', 540 'To NDRF 1948', 541-542 'Sold 1946'.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1948
- Population
- NJSB Barber yard trades (1943-44)
- Limitations
- Secondary reference table - corroboration of builder/date/disposition, not a primary contract record. Yard contract or hull-number-level detail not carried. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-02
-
[4]USS LCI National Association, Elsie Item No. 95 (November 2016), 'Final Assault on Omaha Beach' feature story (association historian John France; 'years of research') [other_primary]
- Locator
- Elsie Item No. 95 (Nov 2016), pp. 16-24, Group 35 narrative paragraphs
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The association's researched account names this hull in LCI Group 35, Flotilla 12 at Omaha Beach: 'At 0300, June 6, 1944, Group 35 consisting of LCIs 401, 403, 415, 416, 417, 418, 420, 537, 538, 539, 542, 556, led by Flotilla 12 Flagship, LCI 414, sailed in two columns with Task Group 126.3 towards the Normandy Coast' (task group led by USS Achernar (AKA-53), 1st Infantry Division command ship; escorts USS Maloy (DE-791), USS Ellyson (DD-454), two U.S. patrol craft, two British corvettes, one USCG rescue vessel). At 1647 the group went to General Quarters 300 yards off Easy Red and Fox Green sectors of Omaha Beach; 'At 1801, LCIs 415, 416, 539 and 556 were ordered by voice from Flotilla 12 Flagship, LCI 414, to head for Easy Red instead of Fox Green as originally planned'; in the beach lineup 'LCI 539 was to port of the 538 followed by the 537 and the 416. The 403 was close at starboard.'
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-06-06
- Population
- LCI(L)-539 crew (24) and embarked 1st Infantry Division troops during the Normandy assault
- Limitations
- A veterans'-association researched narrative - names the hull in the group composition, sailing order, and beach approach, but does not narrate 539's own beaching or casualties in detail. Informal publication with internal typos; the association has issued errata on other details of the article. Not a material or asbestos record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-03
-
[5]NARA catalog, NAID 633387119 - 'COM LCI(L) FLOT 12 - War Diary, 9/1-30/44' (RG 38, WWII War Diaries/Other Operational Records and Histories, series NAID 4697018; Roll A1182; 7 digitized images, contents reviewed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/633387119 - file-unit page and 7-image viewer (Roll A1182, images 0422-0428)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The flotilla's own war diary (unit: 'LCI(L) Flotilla TWELVE'; next higher echelon Commander LCI(L)s, Eleventh Amphibious Force; attached Twelfth Fleet; based at Lymington, Hants, England) names this hull five times in verbatim September 1944 entries: 16 Sep - 'at 1406 LCI(L) 539 reported in from Millbrook' (repair base); 17 Sep - 'at 1510 the LCI(L) 539 was sailed' to Royal Pier, Southampton, 'transporting troops to UTAH beach'; 23 Sep - 'LCI(L)s 540, 408, 539, and 501 reported in at 1315'; 27 Sep - 'LCI(L)s 413, 499, 500, 539, 542, and 420 were sailed to Royal Pier and loaded with troops to be transported to British beaches on the far shore'; 29 Sep - 'at 0745 LCI(L) 539 reported in from the far shore.' Direct primary documentation of post-assault cross-Channel troop-ferry service.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-09-01 to 1944-09-30
- Population
- LCI(L)-539 crew and embarked troops on cross-Channel runs
- Limitations
- Seven diary images were read for this record; quoted entries verified on the page images. An operational record - documents movements, not material condition. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-04
-
[6]NARA catalog, NAID 83557246 - 'LCI(G)-539 - War Diary, 8/1-31/45' (RG 38, same series; micro serial 138928; transmittal dated 9/1/1945 signed Mark B. Nelson, Lt (jg) USNR, Commanding Officer; 2 digitized images, contents reviewed) [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/83557246 - file-unit page and 2-image viewer (Roll A1842, images 0579-0580)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- This hull's own war diary for August 1945 records verbatim: 'August 1-18 Ship moored at Jacksonville, Florida. Gibbs Gas Engine Co. undergoing conversion from LCI (L) to LCI (G).' and 'August 18-31 Ship moored at Gibbs Gas Engine Co. Jacksonville, Florida. Conversion from LCI (L) to LCI (G) halted. Ship being sealed against weather, awaiting further orders.' - a hull-authored primary record that the 15 July 1945 LCI(G) reclassification corresponded to an actual, started-then-halted conversion at a commercial yard (the wartime gunboat-conversion program stopped with the end of the war; sister LCI(G)-538's NavSource page notes that hull 'was probably the only LCI(G) of her type completed').
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-08-01 to 1945-09-01
- Population
- LCI(G)-539 crew (reduced complement during yard period); Gibbs Gas Engine Co. trades, Jacksonville FL (Aug 1945)
- Limitations
- Both diary images were read for this record; quoted text verified on the page images. Documents a yard work period but records no material detail - the conversion's scope, materials disturbed, and workforce are undocumented. No asbestos content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-05
-
[7]NHHC photograph catalog, SC 222893 - 'USS PRESIDENT WARFIELD (IX-169) Serving as a base ship on the Seine River, circa Winter 1944-1945' (US Army Signal Corps photo; live page verified 2026-09-30) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NHHC SC 222893 catalog page - caption text
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The NHHC catalog caption names this hull alongside the LCI base/accommodations ship on the Seine: 'Several other ships are nearby and alongside, including: HMS ML-248 (right), USS LCI-412, USS LCI-408, USS LCI-539, USS LCI-401 and USS LCI-556.' Consistent with the flotilla's post-Normandy presence in French waters. The NHHC caption itself flags a date conflict: catalog date field 8 November 1945, noted as 'several months after PRESIDENT WARFIELD left European waters' - the scene is the winter 1944-45 Seine basing, not late 1945.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-45 winter (scene); catalog date 1945-11-08
- Population
- LCI(L)-539 crew during ETO basing period
- Limitations
- A photographic identification record - names the hull in the scene; the catalog's own date field is internally inconsistent (1945-11-08 vs. 'circa Winter 1944-1945'), flagged by NHHC and carried with the caveat. No asbestos or material content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-06
-
[8]NARA Special List No. 44, List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947 - ship-number sequence, PDF page 25 [other_primary]
- Locator
- sl-44-ship-number.pdf, PDF page 25, row 'LCI(L)-539 1/22/1944 12/19/1945' (verified via pdftotext extraction)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Special List 44 (by ship number) lists Navy deck logs held by NARA for LCI(L)-539 covering 1/22/1944-12/19/1945 - logbook coverage running from her commissioning date to one day before the decommissioning NavSource prints (log-coverage dates, not commissioning/decommissioning evidence).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-01-22 to 1945-12-19
- Population
- LCI(L)-539 / LCI(G)-539 crew (1944-45 logging window)
- Limitations
- Archival lead: the list establishes that logs exist in NARA holdings for that window. Catalog searches for digitized WWII deck-log file units returned no unit titled for this hull under any tested name form, so these logs were not located online - physical-holdings lead only. A deck log is an operational record, not a material survey; it would document location/moorage and noteworthy events, not insulation content.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-07
-
[9]NARA catalog, NAID 120246131 - 'LCI(L) 539 - Muster Rolls' (121 digitized images, Ancestry partnership, first image a 1 March 1944 muster roll); related index block NAID 118967602 'USS K-1 (SSK-1) to USS LCI(R)-651' (RG 24 Index to Muster Rolls); Flotilla 12 muster rolls NAID 120301315; a COM LCI(L) FLOT 9 war diary for 2/1-29/44 (NAID 78332281) also surfaces on a catalog search for this hull [other_primary]
- Locator
- catalog.archives.gov/id/120246131 (121 images); /id/118967602 (index block); /id/120301315 (FLOT 12 muster rolls); /id/78332281 (FLOT 9 war diary)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- Digitized personnel and command records naming this hull: 121 muster-roll images for LCI(L) 539 are online (crew rosters by reporting period, from 1 March 1944), the ship appears in the muster-roll index block covering hulls up to LCI(R)-651, and digitized flotilla records (Flotilla 12 muster rolls; the FLOT 9 February 1944 and FLOT 12 September 1944 war diaries) surface on catalog search.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1944-1946
- Population
- LCI(L)-539 crew (1944-46); Flotilla 12 staff
- Limitations
- Catalog metadata verified live; muster-roll page-image contents not individually reviewed. Muster rolls and flotilla diaries are personnel/operational records - no material or asbestos content. They are leads for building a crew roster and timeline, which this record does not do.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-08
-
[10]California State Lands Commission Shipwreck Database (published extract PDF), row 'Lazy Days'; corroborating identification via East Carolina University maritime-studies wreck report (Pappy Lane PAS0001 public-education document), which lists 'LCI(L)-539 / LCI(G)-539 Became passenger barge Lazy Days (ON259643), foundered 9 May 1953' citing Williams 2013 [other_primary]
- Locator
- slc.ca.gov ShipwreckInfo.pdf row 'Lazy Days'; academia.edu 43658820 (Pappy Lane report), LCI disposition appendix
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- The official California state shipwreck inventory lists: 'Lazy Days | Barge | Year Built 1943 | Year Sunk 1953 | Cause: Foundered | 150 feet | 93 [tons] | San Diego [county]' - an official record corroborating NavSource's disposition line that the ex-LCI(G)-539, registered 1950 as passenger barge Lazy Days homeported San Diego, foundered 9 May 1953 about 1.5 miles off Sunset Cliffs. The 1943 build year and ~150-foot length in the state record are consistent with this hull (laid down Dec 1943; 158 ft). The ECU report supplies the link, Official Number 259643.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1948-1953
- Population
- Civilian operators/passengers aboard Lazy Days (1950-53)
- Limitations
- The state wreck list does not itself carry the naval hull number - the Lazy Days = ex-LCI(G)-539 identification comes from NavSource (Turner Publishing) and the ECU report citing Williams 2013, corroborated by the matching build year, barge type, length, tonnage, location, and loss date. No asbestos or material content; the wreck's present-day material state is undocumented.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-09
-
[11]Cross-source check: NavSource LCI(L)-539 page timeline ('Decommissioned, date unknown' AND 'Decommissioned, 20 December 1945'; 'Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 28 April 1948; Final Disposition, fate unknown' AND 'Registered in 1950 as passenger barge Lazy Days ... foundered, 9 May 1953'); NARA SL44 log coverage ending 12/19/1945; CSLC Shipwreck Database Lazy Days row; ECU report citing Williams 2013 (ON259643) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource 10/15/150539.htm disposition block; sl-44-ship-number.pdf p25; CSLC ShipwreckInfo.pdf; academia.edu 43658820
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- RECONCILIATION: the NavSource page carries two overlapping timeline blocks. The fuller second block (decommissioned 20 December 1945; registered 1950 as passenger barge Lazy Days; foundered 9 May 1953 off Sunset Cliffs) is treated as the correct account because it is independently corroborated (CSLC shipwreck database; ECU/Williams ON259643 linkage) and is consistent with NARA's deck-log coverage ending 12/19/1945. The earlier 'date unknown'/'fate unknown' lines are carried nowhere in this record as fact.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- correction
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1945-1953
- Limitations
- Reconciles internal conflict on one secondary page using independent corroboration; the decommissioning place is not stated in any located source (probably a US Atlantic/Gulf port given the August-December 1945 Jacksonville lay-up, but that is inference). Not a material or asbestos claim.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-10
-
[12]Era inference built on: this hull's NavSource specifications block (General Motors diesel plant, 1,600 bhp - no steam plant); GAO HRD-80-2 (Navy asbestos-use era, ev-12); NARA physical logbook holdings and yard-period record (ev-05, ev-07) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource specifications block; shipyards.json yard list (no New Jersey Shipbuilding or Gibbs entry); GAO HRD-80-2 context; NARA NAID 83557246 (yard period)
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- A diesel-powered landing craft built December 1943-January 1944 sits squarely inside the Navy's documented asbestos-use era. Era-standard applications aboard a small diesel craft of this type were diesel exhaust and muffler lagging, gaskets and valve packing in engine and piping systems, electrical insulation on wiring and in control panels, and thermal insulation in the confined machinery spaces. As a diesel vessel she carried no steam plant - the boiler/turbine lagging pathway of steam ships does not apply. Her August 1945 partial conversion at Gibbs Gas Engine Co. (cutting, fitting, and re-equipment in an era-equipped yard) is a documented disturbance period whose material content is unknown.
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1943-1953
- Population
- NJSB construction trades (1943-44); crew ~24 as LCI(L) / up to 70 as LCI(G) (1944-45); embarked troops (transient, up to ~188); Gibbs yard trades (Aug 1945); barge crew (1950-53)
- Limitations
- Class/era inference only - no hull-specific insulation schedule, material list, builder's spec sheet, or work package located for LCI(L)-539/LCI(G)-539. Names era-standard applications, not confirmed installed materials. No quantity, no manufacturer attribution. Neither New Jersey Shipbuilding nor Gibbs Gas Engine Co. is in the Atlas shipyards.json dataset, so no yard-level product list was attached.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-11
-
[13]GAO, Navy Efforts To Protect Workers From Asbestos Exposure, HRD-80-2 (Oct 18, 1979) [gao]
- Locator
- GAO product page HRD-80-2 (full text blocked, HTTP 403)
- Finding type
- gov_survey
- Finding
- GAO documented that the Navy used asbestos insulation extensively aboard ships and did not begin substituting alternative insulation materials until the early 1970s - spanning this hull's construction (1943-44) and entire US Navy service era (1944-45).
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 1979
- Population
- Navy shipyard workers; asbestos program review
- Limitations
- Program-level documentation; supports era context only, not any fact specific to this hull. Full text not retrieved (gao.gov blocks automated fetch, HTTP 403, confirmed 2026-09-30) - content via product-page description.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-12
-
[14]Batch-5260 search ledger (this record): NavSource hull page; shipbuilding-history build table; uboat.net warship entry; NavalCoverMuseum entry; NARA catalog (hull's own war diary, muster rolls, flotilla war diary and muster rolls, index block); NARA Special List 44 PDF; NHHC DANFS and photo-index checks; NHHC SC 222893 photo page; NVR check; CourtListener opinion index (zero hits); CourtListener docket index (blocked); CSLC shipwreck database; ECU wreck report; secondary web sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-01 through -14
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, or verified litigation naming USS LCI(L)-539 / LCI(G)-539 / Lazy Days was found in the public sources searched. CourtListener opinion index returned zero hits for all tested name forms; the RECAP docket index could not be queried when this record was drafted - the fleet pacing limiter returned 'budget momentarily spent' (exit 2) on repeated attempts; logged as blocked in search_ledger, not as a negative result. The hull's 1953 foundering as a civilian barge forecloses the usual US-side abatement/museum/scrapping documentation trail that produces ship-specific asbestos records.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-30
- Study period
- 2026-09-30
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos aboard - and the docket-index search is a genuine open gap (pacing-blocked, not run). Undigitized deck logs (SL44 window 1/22/1944-12/19/1945), NJSB build records, Gibbs Gas Engine conversion work records, and the wreck site's material state are open leads. Does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-lci-l-539-lcil539-13